Short Interest in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Increases By 20.5%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 860,600 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the February 13th total of 713,900 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 480,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE BFAM traded down $1.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $124.58. 568,428 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,529. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.91 and a beta of 1.50. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $100.59 and a 12 month high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 5.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BFAM. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,170,755.81. The trade was a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,442,777 shares of the company's stock worth $603,332,000 after acquiring an additional 101,151 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company's stock worth $549,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868,117 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,546,606 shares of the company's stock worth $393,141,000 after purchasing an additional 511,905 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company's stock worth $445,761,000 after purchasing an additional 423,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company's stock worth $262,752,000 after purchasing an additional 532,644 shares during the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.